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Xeric
, depicting an ancient Xerician priest. The examine text implies that it is possibly a statue of Xeric himself.]] Xeric was a powerful mage who ruled Great Kourend nearly 1,030 years ago. He was responsible for the creation of the lizardmen, and is honoured as a great king by them. History As King Shayzien VII The Arceuus wizard Ektheme, found in the Library Historical Archive, suggests that Xeric is actually King Shayzien VII. King Shayzien VII took control of Great Kourend during the 32nd decade, using the corrupting power of the Dark Altar. With the darkness eventually corrupting his mind, he was eventually killed in the Battle of the Concourse five decades later, and his body was never recovered. A few days after the battle, Xeric appeared and was said to have had a similar appearance to Shayzien VII. This battle is also documented in Killing of a king, a text found in the Arceuus House Library, where it is written that a coup d'état was attempted by his Elder Warriors, who successfully killed him. As Xeric After the death of King Shayzien VII, it was quickly discovered that he had used the power of the Dark Altar and moved his spirit from his mortal body into an incorporeal one, allowing him to gain massive power and emerge victorious from the battle against the soldiers. As the text states that he reigned Great Kourend for a hundred years, it can be assumed that he had achieved immortality in a way that resembles the way the residents of the Arceuus House have. At this point, he has referred himself as Xeric. With this newfound power, Xeric proceeded to kill the remaining Lords of the Houses, and claimed Great Kourend as his own. However, while he was very powerful, he couldn't rule the people singlehandedly, nor could he rely on human informants. The solution was to create the lizardmen, an army he could control and do as he commanded without question. With them at his disposal, the people were powerless to resist his authority. , likely worn by loyal followers of Xeric.]] These lizardmen served Xeric as guards and enforcers of his absolute rule. They would sweep the cities and farms, kidnapping people for the use of his many experiments, as well as for his own sadistic purposes. The records of the experiments that remain imply that the process involved a combination of the breeding of humans and lizard creatures using dark magic. During the 40th decade, Xamphur, Xeric's closest comrade, achieved a breakthrough in the study of teleportation, giving Xeric the ability to perform a previously impossible feat. This gave him greater knowledge of teleportation spells than any other wizards in Zeah, aiding in the creation of his talisman, allowing him to instantly travel around Great Kourend. At the height of his reign in the 43rd decade, a resistance group called HAX (Humans Against Xeric) attempted to storm the Tower of Magic and defeat Xeric, but failed, resulting in the loss of two hundred members. Defeat and exile During 312-47 (the 312th day of the 47th decade), Byrne, a farmer, witnessed a Lizardman guard murder a child whilst working his farm. Outraged, he slaughtered the lizardman, with the entire town as witnesses. Urging the people to fight back, the people revolted, and within seven days, the lizardmen were outnumbered and driven to the caves beneath Kourend and beyond the city. Even Xeric's most elite officers, the Vanguard, were forced to flee. During this revolution, the temple surrounding the Dark Altar was destroyed as well, thus weakening Xeric's power and forcing him into exile. After his exile, Xeric no longer had the Dark Altar's power to sustain his immortality, so he and the rest of his followers travelled west to Mount Quidamortem, where his artisan Tekton built a massive underground complex for him to use "cave magic", .]] as Tekton put it. Xeric's strength was further replenished due to an unknown altar found inside an ancient section of the mountain which seems to have pre-dated his arrival; Gnosi suspects that this mysterious altar had allowed Xeric to survive, surmising that the altar in Mount Quidamortem served as an "amplifier" for the Dark Altar to reach places where it normally couldn't. Based on the journals dropped in the chambers, Vasa Nistirio, Tekton, and several other unidentified members (his council, a creature keeper and several servants) accompanied Xeric. Xeric wished to use the powers in the mountain to return and conquer Great Kourend. Tekton created a new temple to harness the power of "cave magic", which pleased Xeric; however, he soon became annoyed when everyone else, including the "nasty high priest" began using it, so he had Tekton demolish the temple. Tekton complied and destroyed it, but only slightly in the event that he changed his mind. Tekton tried to teach Xeric how to use the "cave magic" without a temple, but failed, which visibly annoyed the tyrant. Xeric eventually took Tekton underground and gave him a new form and enhanced his anvil, teaching him how to repair his new body. Xeric conducted extensive experiments in the chambers, primarily through the use of the crystals similar to those found in the Arceuus House. Having acquired several stray dogs, Xeric "hired" a dog master as the creature keeper had died to lizardman poisoning after performing an experiment of his own. With the hound master's assistance, Xeric continued experimenting on them, resulting in a Muttadile; unbeknowst to him, the muttadile was pregnant, and thus a second muttadile was born in the process. It is unknown what happened to the other dogs. With his works still in progress, the Vanguard eventually found Xeric and repledged their allegiance to him. Xeric treated them with respect; however, this was just a ruse, as when he brought them down into the chambers, he melted them into lava-like crustaceans as an act of vengeance for abandoning him rather than fighting to the death. He brought along a loyal follower as a witness, who later wrote down a book regarding these events. beneath Mount Quidamortem, which depicts a stylised representation of Xeric.]] Xeric and his followers stumbled in a chamber where he noticed a massive rip in time and space. He used his powers to open the rift, but it was too much; it was a two-way mirror where the Abyss saw Xeric and his group and vice versa. A massive demon-like wasp squeezed through the rift and overwhelmed the group, claiming the chamber as its own. Xeric refused to accept defeat and tried to find a way to tame the Abyss' creatures for his own purposes; whether he succeeded or failed is unknown. He later appointed Vasa Nistirio as his new high priest, but Vasa had gone insane after gaining a new form and demanded that Xeric worship him instead. Despite Vasa's newfound strength, Xeric was able to defeat the treacherous high priest and bound him to the four crystals in the chamber. He then appointed another high priest after the incident. Eventually, Xeric and his remaining followers encountered the Guardian of the Deep and defeated it. Xeric obtained an unknown amount of power in the process. The new high priest wrote down a journal about these events. Return Nearly 940 years after Xeric was exiled out of Great Kourend, Xeric has begun planning his return. Word of this has spread, and the five Houses of Great Kourend have become busy in fear of this fact. During the Client of Kourend quest, Xeric possesses Veos, an experienced adventurer who takes people to Piscarilius House's port via Port Sarim. He uses Veos to have the player help a "client" (himself) gather knowledge on the current state of Great Kourend's hierarchy and general social organisation via the use of an enchanted scroll. While writing down notes about the Arceuus House, Xeric becomes angered upon hearing of the Dark Altar, lightly searing the player's hand in the process, which he later apologises for. Once the player had completed this task, he requested the player to activate a mysterious orb near the Dark Altar. Unaware of who the client actually is, the player complied with his request. Upon returning to Veos, the player soon discovers he was possessed the entire time, with Xeric revealing himself (but not by name) as the client, claiming that Veos is of good use to him as a conduit before making his grand entrance. As a reward for their assistance, he gives them "additional" favour towards one of the five houses and doubles their favour gain towards all houses. If the player has an activated ring of charos, they can attempt to charm him into revealing his name. However, he easily foils their attempt, asking the player if they thought that they could truly manipulate him with Charos' feeble magic, indicating that they had met sometime ago. Due to the player's invaluable assistance, he willingly tells them his name: Xeric. Category:Old School-exclusive content